UFC on ESPN: Makhachev vs. Moisés (also known as UFC on ESPN 26 and UFC Vegas 31) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 17, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
| UFC on ESPN: Makhachev vs. Moisés | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Makhachev vs. Moisés | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | July 17, 2021 | |||
| Venue | UFC Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background edit
A featherweight bout between former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway and The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight winner Yair Rodríguez was slated to serve as the event headliner.[3] However, Holloway was pulled from the bout due to injury.[4] Subsequently, a lightweight bout between Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moisés was then promoted to serve as the new main event.[5]
A women's bantamweight bout between former Strikeforce and UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate and Marion Reneau took place at this event. It was Tate's first fight since UFC 205, where she lost to former title challenger Raquel Pennington via unanimous decision and decided to retire afterwards.[6]
Guram Kutateladze and Don Madge were expected to meet in a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad four months earlier, but Kutateladze pulled out due to a knee injury that required surgery.[7] They were then rescheduled for this event.[8] However, the bout was scrapped after Kutateladze once again withdrew from the bout citing injury and visa issues.[9]
A heavyweight bout between Rodrigo Nascimento and Alan Baudot was originally expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt.[10] However, they were rescheduled to this event after Baudot got injured.[11]
Herbert Burns and Billy Quarantillo were expected to meet in a featherweight bout at this event.[12] Burns eventually pulled out in early June due to a torn ACL and was replaced by Gabriel Benítez.[13]
A flyweight bout between Ode Osbourne and Amir Albazi was originally linked to the event.[14] However, Albazi pulled out of the fight in late June citing injury. In turn, Osbourne was pulled from the card entirely and rescheduled for a future event.[15]
A middleweight bout between Phil Hawes and Deron Winn was scheduled to take place at the event.[16] However, Winn was forced to pull out from the event citing a separated rib and torn cartilage.[17] The pairing remained intact and was rescheduled for October at UFC Fight Night 194.[18]
Abubakar Nurmagomedov was scheduled to meet Daniel Rodriguez in a welterweight bout.[19] However, Nurmagomedov was forced to withdraw from the event citing injury.[20] Rodriguez faced promotional newcomer Preston Parsons instead.[21]
A bantamweight bout between Miles Johns and Anderson dos Santos was scheduled for the preliminary card.[22] However, the bout was removed just hours before taking place due to COVID-19 protocol issues in Dos Santos' camp.[23]
Results edit
| Main card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Islam Makhachev | def. | Thiago Moisés | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 4 | 2:38 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Miesha Tate | def. | Marion Reneau | TKO (punches) | 3 | 1:53 | |
| Lightweight | Mateusz Gamrot | def. | Jeremy Stephens | Submission (kimura) | 1 | 1:05 | |
| Middleweight | Rodolfo Vieira | def. | Dustin Stoltzfus | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 1:54 | |
| Featherweight | Billy Quarantillo | def. | Gabriel Benítez | TKO (punches) | 3 | 3:40 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Daniel Rodriguez | def. | Preston Parsons | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:47 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Amanda Lemos | def. | Montserrat Ruiz | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:35 | |
| Bantamweight | Sergey Morozov | def. | Khalid Taha | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Malcolm Gordon | def. | Francisco Figueiredo | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Rodrigo Nascimento | vs. | Alan Baudot | No Contest (overturned) | 2 | 1:29 | [a] |
- ^ Originally a TKO (punches) win for Nascimento; overturned after he tested positive for ritalinic acid.[24]
Bonus awards edit
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[26]
- Fight of the Night: Billy Quarantillo vs. Gabriel Benítez
- Performance of the Night: Miesha Tate, Mateusz Gamrot, Rodolfo Vieira, and Rodrigo Nascimento
Aftermath edit
On September 22, it was announced that by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) that Rodrigo Nascimento tested positive for ritalinic acid, therefore he received a six-month suspension, retroactive to the test. He was also fined a total of $1,945.36, for the violation and subsequent legal fees. His victory was overturned to a no contest.[24] In late August 2022, it was announced that Nascimento received a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) after proving use of the medication for the treatment of a legitimate medical condition. Since the Nevada commission doesn't accept retroactive TUEs, Nascimento would have to appeal to a higher court to achieve a reinstation of his original result. The three-year TUE went effective on Nov. 12 and is valid for tests conducted by USADA and NAC. He still must require prior approval from other athletic commissions if he’s scheduled to compete outside of Nevada.[27]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Mike Bohn (July 18, 2021). "UFC on ESPN 26 post-event facts: Miesha Tate impacts record books in return". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ Staff (May 27, 2021). "Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez set for UFC Fight Night on July 17". ufc.com. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Staff (May 26, 2021). "Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez headlines UFC's July 17 event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ "Max Holloway out at UFC on ESPN 26, Yair Rodriguez fight postponed". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ Staff (June 23, 2021). "Islam Makhachev vs. Thiago Moises elevated to UFC on ESPN 26 main event on July 17". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
- ^ Mike Bohn (March 24, 2021). "Miesha Tate returns: Former UFC champ ends retirement, meets Marion Reneau on July 17". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ Farah Hannoun (February 8, 2021). "Guram Kutateladze says he's out of March 13 UFC fight vs. Don Madge due to knee injury". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ^ Akshyay Srichandan Mahapatra (April 10, 2021). "Guram Kutateladze to mark his return against Don Madge at UFC event on July 17th". essentiallysports.com. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
- ^ Saurabh Singh (July 3, 2021). "Guram Kutateladze shares a message after his canceled bout at UFC Fight Night". essentiallysports.com. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ Staff (February 28, 2021). "French Alan Baudot returns to the UFC on May 22!". lasueur.com. Retrieved May 9, 2021. (in French)
- ^ Sergio Pineiro (May 7, 2021). "BREAKING: Heavyweight bout between Alan Baudot and Rodrigo Nascimento pushed to July 17". fighterpath.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
- ^ Alex Behunin (April 17, 2021). "Billy Quarantillo vs. Herbert Burns set for July 17 UFC event". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
- ^ Carlos Contreras Legaspi (June 8, 2021). "Gabriel Benítez to fight Billy Quarantillo at UFC Fight Night on July 17". espndeportes.espn.com. Retrieved June 8, 2021. (in Spanish)
- ^ Nolan King and Farah Hannoun (April 6, 2021). "UFC books Ode Osbourne for flyweight debut July 17 vs. Amir Albazi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ Marcel Dorff (June 30, 2021). "Manel Kape vs. Ode' Osbourne added to UFC 265 in Houston on August 7". mmadna.nl. Retrieved June 30, 2021. (in Dutch)
- ^ Farah Hannoun (May 10, 2021). "Phil Hawes meets Deron Winn at UFC Fight Night on July 17". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ Alexander K. Lee (July 5, 2021). "Deron Winn out of Phil Hawes fight at UFC Vegas 31 due to injury". mmafighting.com. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ Tristen Critchfield (July 15, 2021). "Phil Hawes vs. Deron Winn rescheduled for UFC card on Oct. 9". sherdog.com. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
- ^ Nolan King, John Morgan and Farah Hannoun (May 23, 2021). "Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Rodriguez booked for UFC Fight Night on July 17". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ Staff (July 9, 2021). "Abubakar Nurmagomedov withdrew from the fight against Daniel Rodriguez". sports.ru. Retrieved July 9, 2021. (in Russian)
- ^ Marcel Dorff (July 9, 2021). "Daniel Rodriguez has a new opponent for fight on July 17". mmadna.nl. Retrieved July 9, 2021. (in Dutch)
- ^ Staff (April 20, 2021). "Miles Johns vs. Anderson Dos Santos added to UFC event on July 17". mmadna.nl. Retrieved April 20, 2021. (in Dutch)
- ^ Marc Raimondi (July 17, 2021). "Miles Johns, Anderson Dos Santos UFC bout canceled due to COVID-19". espn.com. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ a b Nolan King (September 22, 2021). "Three UFC fighters suspended by NAC for positive drug tests including amphetamine, marijuana, more". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ^ "UFC on ESPN: Makhachev vs. Moisés". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
- ^ Chris Taylor (July 11, 2021). "UFC Vegas 31 Bonus Report: Six fighters take home an extra $50k". bjpenn.com. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
- ^ Guilherme Cruz (August 31, 2022). "Rodrigo Nascimento granted TUE for ritalin after overturned UFC Vegas 31 win over Alan Baudot". mmafighting.com. Retrieved September 1, 2022.